Decorative mirrors have long been a popular item. Decorative mirrors are commonly created from a transparent glass plane having its rear surface silk-screened or otherwise patterned to form a design. A reflective coating is then deposited on the rear surface of the pane so that the design remains visible when viewed from the front surface of the glass pane.
Alternatively, the rear surface of a transparent sheet of material can have a design made from an opaque collage and the front surface can have a reflective coating thereon. Removal of a desired section of the reflective coating reveals sections of the rear collage.
Another attractive decorative mirror is formed by cutting shaped mosaic pieces from differently tinted sheets of transparent thermoplastic acrylic material with a laser and assembling the tinted pieces together on a substrate. The rear surface of each mosaic piece may have a reflective coating deposited thereon.
Mosaic decorative mirrors are attractive not only due to the reflective coating on the back side and the contrasting tints of the different mosaic pieces, but also due to optically shiny interruptions from the smooth edges of each mosaic piece. A major drawback to mosaic decorative mirrors is the high cost involved in cutting each piece and assembling the mosaic together.
What is needed is a decorative mirror that simulates a mosaic but is made from one piece of transparent material which eliminates the necessity of costly assembly.